The Calm Before the Storm
by The Nite Wolf
Summary: Any normal teenage girl would have been ecstatic at the arrival of her "Sweet 16", but Raven was not a normal teenager by any standards. In fact, she had a feeling that her "Sweet" 16 would be a day that she would never forget....


Raven wandered aimlessly through the empty corridors of Titans Tower.

The others had recently departed for the Pizzeria in central Jump City. However, Raven had vouched to remain behind, not at all eager to partake in the chaos that would no doubt ensue: The infamous Meat vs. Tofu Battle. She couldn't help but grin slightly at the thought.

Due to the absence of its usual inhabitants, an unusual stillness pressed upon the Tower.

She continued to roam the vacant halls with no particular destination in mind. This was merely a means to stretch her legs and enjoy the precious silence. The only sounds to be heard were the occasional rustle of her dark blue cloak and her feet padding lightly across the floor. She had passed several rooms during her stroll and found herself briefly pondering its contents, yet she did not pause. After roaming the halls for several more minutes, she had finally come to a halt at a large window which provided a magnificent view of the bay. She debated whether to remain at her present location or continue on her journey. In the end, she simply decided to head to the kitchen, brew herself a cup of herbal tea and return to the confines of her room.

A few passages and staircases later, she arrived at the main room. She quickly glanced at the room and gracefully glided towards the kitchen area. From the cupboard she retrieved a mug, a tea bag and the kettle. She proceeded to fill the kettle with water and then placed it upon the stove. She then leaned against the counter and allowed her mind to wander as she waited for the tea to boil.

She turned her head to glance at the clock on the mantelpiece: It was half past nine. In a matter of hours, midnight would arrive and along with it, a new day. However, this was no ordinary day: It happened to be the sixteenth anniversary of her birth. Any normal teenage girl would have been ecstatic at the arrival of her "Sweet 16" but Raven was_not_ a normal teenage girl by any standards. In fact, she had a bad feeling that her "Sweet 16" would be a day that she would never forget….

She was abruptly broken out of her reverie by the shrill whistle emanating from the tea kettle. She quickly turned off the stove and poured the scalding liquid into her cup. She then retrieved the tea bag from the counter and began to stir it absent-mindedly within the water. Raven swiftly exited the room and began to make the short trek to her bedroom.

She entered and swiftly locked the door behind her. She did not spare the room a second glance and immediately went to stand by the large window. It was truly a breathtaking sight: A full moon hovered in the dark sky, partially obscured by gray clouds. The numerous lights from Jump City were reflected onto the murky waters of the ocean. She could also hear the faint whistle of the wind through her room and the sound of the waves crashing against the island. However, her gaze lingered on the moon: It was absolutely stunning, ridiculously so. But she briefly wondered, what did the dark side of the moon look like? If light were to be shed upon it, would it be just as beautiful? As she considered this, her thoughts then took a darker turn.

She desperately wished that tomorrow would not arrive. She longed for the darkness to remain and a sun that would never rise. But there was nothing she could do to prevent it. The day had long been prophesized, centuries before her birth.

It had been prophesized that the powerful demon Trigon would take a human woman as his bride with whom he would mate and conceive the child that would become his gateway to the Earth. _She_ was that child. Her sole purpose was to bring immense suffering to the universe and those who inhabited it, and none would be spared. She was destined to destroy the Earth upon the arrival of her sixteenth birthday. She was to become the portal that would free Trigon from his imprisonment and allow him to conquer the Earth. After this, she would exist no more. Her purpose fulfilled.

Raven was the daughter of a union between an Earth woman, Arella, and the demon Trigon the Terrible, who was the very incarnation of evil. Beforehand, Arella had been seduced by a cult who had been trying to summon the demon to the Earth. Trigon came and took Arella as his bride and then brutally raped her. She subsequently fled the church and had been on the brink of suicide before she was rescued by a pacifistic cult and taken to another dimension called Azarath. Nine months later, she had given birth to a baby girl and named her Raven. Shortly after her birth, Raven had been taken in by the ruler of Azarath, the mystic Azar. Due to her demonic heritage, she possessed a wide range of supernatural powers such as telekinesis, empathy, teleportation, rapid healing, flight, and soul-self. Her powers were closely tied to her emotions therefore Azar had trained her to keep her emotions in check at all times lest the evil within her would be released.

However, for several years, she had not been aware of her demonic heritage. Azar, as well as several other monks, had attempted to shield her from such a horrible revelation. Yet there had also been several signs: Many of the inhabitants of Azarath had often shot her looks of hatred and mistrust as she passed by. Rooms would also become suddenly silent upon her entrance. At the time, she had thought nothing of it, but once she had learned the truth about her heritage, it suddenly became clear.

As a Titan, she had faced many dangerous foes, but they were all saints compared to Trigon. Even Slade, the criminal mastermind who had managed to elude the Titans several times before his imminent destruction, was _nothing_ compared to him. This was definitely saying much.

She glanced at the clock on her bookshelf and was surprised to find that it was already a quarter past ten. The others should be returning soon.

She sighed as she settled her gaze upon the moon once more.

She had dreaded her sixteenth birthday for years and was surprised at how quickly it had arrived. It seemed like only yesterday they had been frantically searching for information about the mysterious Slade and attempting to foil his plans. The Titans had come a long way since then: Shortly after they had defeated Slade, they came across a troubled girl gifted with tremendous powers. Her name was Terra. They had welcomed her with open arms but they were not the only ones looking to recruit her. Slade had been watching the girl for some time and wished to make her his new apprentice. After an encounter with Slade, she had run off once again and returned several months later, with a new control over her abilities. However, at one instant when Terra had lightly brushed past Raven, she received a tumultuous vision. All she had seen was a quick flash of Terra and Slade. Yet this had caused her to become suspicious of the Earth-Mover and it turned out that her suspicions were well-founded: Ever since her return, Terra had secretly been working for Slade. Spying on the Titans and providing Slade with crucial information. She then returned once again, donned in her apprentice uniform with only one purpose in mind: To destroy the Teen Titans. She had nearly succeeded as well.

During her own encounter with Terra, Raven had briefly lost control of her rage, yet this was to have a devastating effect. Enraging Raven had apparently been Slade's plan all along and she had quickly lost. Although she and the others fared much better the second time around: They attacked mercilessly and without hesitation. Even Starfire had been determined to harm the girl, and it was only by luck that she had managed to evade them. However, in the end Terra had realized her mistake, turned on her master and had caused him to fall into a boiling pit of lava. She had also saved the city from a volcanic eruption at the cost of her own life. She became a part of the Earth which she had once controlled.

Life at the Tower had settled down after these events. That was until they learned that the H.I.V.E. Academy had a new headmaster: Brother Blood. Cyborg had gone to the school undercover as "Stone" to find out what they were planning. While there, he had learned that Brother Blood had literally brainwashed his students with his mind control abilities, yet he himself was immune because half of his brain was mechanical. By the time he had been discovered, Cyborg had made an arch-enemy out of Brother Blood. Much like Slade had been to Robin. Brother Blood had proved himself to be quite the adversary but in the end, the Titans had defeated him and sent him to prison.

During this time, Robin had also become convinced that Slade was not dead, but still alive. Robin had nearly been killed but after a brief expedition into his mind, it had been revealed to be merely an illusion that Slade had implanted onto his mask before his death. Robin had had to accept that Slade was not coming back. He was gone for good…or so they thought. Once Robin had left the room, Cyborg had discovered that the chemical reagent in Slade's mask had been activated by a source outside the Tower. This meant that Slade may very well be alive, but the mystery had remained unanswered. However, the Titans had agreed to keep this a secret from the Boy Wonder. If he knew that there was even the slightest possibility that his arch-nemesis was still alive, he would drive himself insane. Despite this, Raven and Robin had become much closer and they developed a new appreciation for one another.

There was also Malchior but she did not wish to dwell on the subject.

Once again, life at the Tower had gone back to normal. Or as normal as life could get for five teenaged superheroes.

However, Raven knew that things would soon take a turn for the worst as the end of the world drew nearer with each passing day. Despite all the challenges that they had faced together, Raven _absolutely_ refused to inform them of her dark destiny. They didn't even know that tomorrow was her birthday, which was all for the better. Even if she merely revealed that she would be the cause of the destruction of the Earth, this would inevitably lead to the subject of her heritage and she shuddered at the thought of what they would think of her once they knew. Would they fall silent upon her entrance and look at her with a combination of fear and mistrust as so many others had done before them? Would that fear eventually morph into hatred? Would they kick her off the team once they realized the danger she posed? What would they do?

A lone tear found its way down her face but she quickly brushed it away and held back the swarm of tears which threatened to fall. She could no longer afford to lose control. It had occurred far too often in the past and due to the dangerous nature of the present time, it was now imperative that she keep all of her emotions in check. Particularly her rage. Even the slightest emotion was now a great hazard.

She was broken out her thoughts once again by the blaring alarm and the blinding red lights flashing repeatedly throughout the room. Not soon after, her communicator began vibrating. She placed her untouched tea on the night table and pulled the communicator out of her belt. She flipped the device open and saw Robin's face on the screen.

"Raven! Dr.Light is messing with the oil rig not far from the Tower. Head over there as soon as you can! We're on our way!"

"Okay. I'll be there in a moment."

Robin nodded and broke the connection.

Raven looked out the window and sure enough, she could see a large glowing sphere out on the oil rig. She could also faintly make out the outline of the villain Dr.Light. She shook her head. Would that man ever learn? He could easily be taken care of yet she was slightly nervous that she might lose control again. The last time the Titans had run into him, Raven had nearly killed the man or worse if the others had not intervened when they had….

She mentally shook herself and raised her hood. She then took in a deep breath and quickly disappeared through the floor in a swirl of black energy.

_One more hour. _

"_Some say the world will end in fire…."_

* * *

A/N: I know I should be working on "Fallen", however I am currently from a case of Writer's Block. I'll try to get it out before the end of the month. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed yet another one-shot about my favorite Teen Titan. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. By the way, if you have any ideas for a Raven one-shot, let me know. Thank you:)

I would also like to give kudos to CasaNova73009 who provided me with wonderful suggestions and helped me get this story out. You should check out her story "Raven: Soundtrack of My Life."


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